Dr. Antonella Rivera

Principal Investigator

Antonella is a Honduran biologist born in the city of Tegucigalpa. While diving in the Bay Islands she became aware of the profound impact coral reefs have on the sustainability of coastal communities. This motivated her to earn her doctorate in marine socio-ecological systems from the University of Oviedo. She has a multidisciplinary research background that ranges from analyzing the management implications of larval dispersal to the use of perception research to assess the adaptive capacity of coastal communities. Through her studies and work experience with coastal communities in Europe and Latin America, she has become a firm believer in the need for bottom-up, holistic and adaptive conservation strategies. Currently, Antonella works on generating research to support science-based decision-making in fisheries and water quality in the Mesoamerican reef region.

The future is in the hands of those who explore…and from all the beauty they discover while crossing perpetually receding frontiers, they develop for nature and for humankind an infinite love.

Jacques Cousteau